What are the pros and cons of purchasing goods and services in foreign jurisdictions?
Purchasing goods and services in foreign jurisdictions can be both advantageous and disadvantageous for a potential buyer. Often, the pros of purchasing in a foreign jurisdiction include lower costs, speed of delivery of the goods and/or services and less restrictive terms and conditions. On the other hand, the cons of purchasing in a foreign jurisdiction have the potential to be more extensive. Some of these issues include, but are not limited to, determining the governing law of the contract, communication between the parties, upfront payment for the goods and/or services without mitigating the risk of receiving compliant goods, and culture/language limitations. The key to the purchasing of goods and/or services in foreign jurisdictions is to address the aforementioned issues prior to entering into the agreement, to the extent possible (particularly, structuring a payment schedule that will limit your risk exposure). Addressing these issues can potentially limit confusion with the terms of the agreement at a later date.